Sold Out Or A Sell Out - Judas

Sold Out or a Sell Out?

Pastor Glenn Newton March 28, 2004

A Little Quiz for you this morning…

Listen to these Characteristics, and then you will be able to answer my question.

1. This person believed in Jesus

2. This person worshiped with Jesus

3. This person followed Jesus

4. This person was involved in ministry/ active in the church

All these things are good things aren’t they? All of those things probably describe 75-80 percent of us here this morning…. Do you know who this person is that I just described? Read Matt. 26:37-50

Judas… He believed in Jesus

Judas…. He worshiped w/Jesus

Judas… followed Jesus for 3 ½ years

Judas… was the treasurer for the disciples, he was in the inner circle of trust, he also did other ministry during his travels with Jesus

So what went wrong with this believer? Doesn’t the story of Judas distrurb you just a little? Christians…. Doesn’t is get under your skin just a little that Judas looked so much like you and me on the outside…. Doing all the right things…. Doing all the Christian things….. serving in the church….. believing and knowing that Christ was the Son of God…. But yet, something went wrong…. Something went terribly wrong.

Some observations that I want to point out to you…. These would be things we need to look closely for in our own lives… just as the doctor’s examine our bodies during a check up, we need to examine our hearts and our motives as Chrisitans and make sure we are not leaving room for Satan to come in and cause life threatening diseases to take over.

1. Being a follower for what God can do for me….. for selfish reasons…. I will believe so that God can give me everything I want type of approach.

The bible is clear about what kind of attitude and what kind of understanding that we need to have as His disciples…. Pick up your cross and follow me” , If you want to find your life, you must lose it, If you love God you will obey all His commands…, not just the ones that fit your lifestyle and comfort level.

Make no mistake about it, I’m thrilled that everyone of you is here this morning…. I can’t hardly hold in my excitement as we are watching God work in the lives of our people, and new people coming in to see what New Hope is all about….. absolutely awesome, and it’s going to continue to grow every week I believe, because what we are doing here is Biblical, it’s being built with genuine love and that’s what it’s all about

And because I love everyone of you very much, with all the love God can put in me, I have to, I must tell you the Truth. I couldn’t live with myself If I ever decided to water down the message just so you wouldn’t be offended…. True Love tells the truth, true love is honest.

The truth is this morning that if you are doing something that you know is wrong, if you are involved in something that you know the Bible teaches against, if you are willingly participating in something that God says is wrong…. Friend, your living in sin… your living in disobedience to the highest authority.

Quote: Sin will take you farther than you want to go, cost you more than you’re willing to pay, require more than you are able to give. Sin will cause you to do things you didn’t think you were capable of.

The devil didn’t make him do it, and neither did God. He was chosen yet he chose. God chose him to betray, and he willingly accepted.

Verse: Psalm 55:12 says the Messiah would be betrayed by a friend.

Zech. 11:12 said it’d be for 30 coins that would purchase a potter’s field.

Scripture says Jesus knew Judas was going to betray Him, yet Judas was in no way coerced – he acted freely and w/out external compulsion.

God’s plan and Judas’ actions concurred perfectly in the fullness of time. Judas did what he did b/c his heart was evil and his motives were selfish.

Quote: If I find taught in one part of the Bible that everything is foreordained, that is true; and if I find , in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true ; and it is only my folly that leads me to imagine that these two truths can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthly anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two line that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which pursues them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, from where all truth springs forth. Spurgeon.